


the things we cannot see

by infernal



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Family, Gen, Ghosts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-25
Updated: 2018-10-25
Packaged: 2019-08-07 08:36:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16404986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/infernal/pseuds/infernal
Summary: Roy gets an unlikely phone call.





	the things we cannot see

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Apathy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Apathy/gifts).



> Happy ToT, Apathy! I'm not sure whether this is more of a treat or a trick, but I loved your ghost!Hughes prompt so much I had to write it either way.

The first time it happens, Roy assumes he's just working too hard, fell asleep at his desk again. He fumbles with the phone receiver, nearly dropping it. "Who is this?" he asks, as if he didn't recognize the voice that had greeted him cheerfully.

"Has it really been so long you don't know my voice?"

"This isn't --" He lets out a frustrated noise. Envy was long gone, and the rest of the Homunculi besides -- who else was there who could so perfectly imitate a voice? "Whoever this is, this is beyond the pale --"

"Whoa, whoa, hey. I just wanted to share some news with an old friend. Did you know Elicia is at the top of her math class? Her teacher has her doing coursework two grade levels ahead." 

That gives Roy pause. If it isn't Hughes, it sure as hell sounds like him. "Is that so?" he says slowly.

"We always knew she was brilliant, of course, but it's good to see her taking her studies so seriously at her age! Gracia wants to hire a tutor to help her go even further, but I'm not sure she needs it, as smart as she is. And I think it's important not to overwork her at her age. Don't want her turning out like us career-obsessed old men, hm?"

"I'm sure she won't," Roy says. He's hallucinating. He's got to be.

"Anyway, I guess I'll let you get back to it -- I know how much you hate it when I interrupt your work to brag about my family --"

"No! No," Roy says. "I've got time."

* * *

A few hours later sees him at the Hughes' door, knocking rapidly. It's been a while since his last visit -- unforgivably long, really, but if Gracia holds it against him, she doesn't say anything. There's a moment of silence before she sighs. "From the look on your face, I'm guessing you got a call, too."

He starts when a small hand touches his. Elicia, of course, and he gives her a smile despite his shock. "You look scared," she says, and gives his hand a squeeze. "You don't need to be. It's just Daddy, he's not scary at all."

"Come in and sit down," Gracia says, and before long he's sitting across from her, a cup of tea in his hands. "It was quite a shock to me the first time, too. I thought it might be a trick, but I couldn't see why anyone would be so vindictive against our family, not when everything's been…"

"Peaceful," Roy supplies, and she nods.

"I asked him to prove it was him. He told me things that only he and I knew." She shrugs helplessly. "I would have told you, if I thought you'd believe it, but I know how it sounds."

Roy nods. "It does sound pretty unbelievable. I wasn't even sure if I was going to tell you when I came here today."

"I'm not surprised he called you. We were just talking about you the other night. He's very proud of you, you know?" She smiles fondly as she takes a sip of her tea. "He used to come home from work full of stories all about you and the other officers he worked with."

"He did?" Roy asks. 

"Oh, yes. To be totally honest, it even got to be a little bit much sometimes. But I'm sure you know how impossible it is to get Maes off a subject once he starts."

"I sure do," Roy says wryly. It feels strange to talk about Hughes in the present tense after so long -- it feels like a weight has been lifted from his shoulders.

* * *

There's been a shift change by the time he makes it back to Command, and the officer at the desk smiles warmly at him. "Working late tonight, sir?"

"Yes," he says. "I had an interruption earlier, and I couldn't finish the project I was working on. I'd like to see it finished by morning."

"I'll hold your calls, then," she says, turning to make a note, and he shakes his head, a rueful smile curling the corners of his lips.

"No, that's fine. Just put them through."


End file.
